Mission

The Roots to Rise: Indianapolis Food Fund's mission is to expand access to and build an equitable food system that is both nutritious and culturally relevant throughout Indianapolis and Marion County.

Roots to Rise has a three fold approach to it’s work:

• build on the $100,000 evergreen fund to ensure fund’s sustainability

• support local growers with grant funding to ensure communities have more access to fresh food

• center community voice to ensure priorites are realistic and relevant

Transparency statement

We know it seems like every year a new group or initiative pops up trying to center the conversation around food access in Indianapolis. We are not here to pretend the past few years in the Indianapolis food space haven't been fractured. We've been in many of the rooms and still we believe that we can build on what once was while working to do things differently. 

We are not here to recreate the harmful systems that have plagued our city for so long but create support in the arena we can within localizing our food system. By supporting the people that grow our food and ensuring communities garner more access to that food. We all play a role in building new systems and it'll take all of us to make the change we seek.

Roots to Rise: indianapolis Food Fund Catalyst grant opportunities

Round 1: Food Retailers

Application Details — Round open May 6- 31, 2026

• Who can apply: Farmers and food retailers selling fresh produce in Indianapolis communities

• Grant amount: Up to $1,000 per applicant

• Eligible uses: Refrigeration, shelving, signage, mobile market support, staff time, and other equipment and operational costs

• Total available: $25,000

• Application window: May 6 – May 31, 2026

• Grant disbursement: June 22, 2026